Neither conclusion is justified by the available legal record.
A decision not to file charges can occur for many reasons, including insufficient admissible evidence, difficulties establishing events beyond a reasonable doubt, delayed reporting or conflicting accounts.
It does not produce a judicial finding that an alleged victim lied. It also does not establish the accused person’s guilt.
Dunmire was never convicted of raping Perkins. The allegation therefore needs to remain clearly attributed to her rather than presented as a proven fact.
Likewise, Perkins’ later murder conviction does not retroactively resolve what happened between them years earlier.
The Journey From Virginia to Ohio
In early March 2021, Perkins drove more than 300 miles from Virginia to Ohio in her husband’s Smart car.
Dunmire told coworkers that he planned to meet a woman he had encountered online. A coworker saw him enter a white vehicle.
Investigators later determined that the vehicle was associated with Perkins’ husband.
After Perkins picked Dunmire up, the two spent the night at a vacation rental. The circumstances initially appeared sufficiently ordinary that Dunmire communicated with people in his life about his plans.
The following morning, March 6, Perkins drove him to Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northern Ohio.
The pair entered the Terra Vista Natural Study Area. According to the Department of Justice, they walked past a cemetery, crossed deep ravines and went off the established trail into a wooded area.
The route mattered to prosecutors because it placed Dunmire in an isolated location and supported the conclusion that the killing was not a sudden, public confrontation.
The Killing in Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Once they were away from the trail, Perkins used a loaded firearm she had brought from Virginia.
She shot Dunmire once in the back of the head.
The wound killed him.
Available accounts do not describe evidence of a struggle immediately preceding the shooting. The location of the wound and the journey into an isolated area supported the prosecution’s description of a calculated act.
Because the killing occurred on federal land, federal investigators and prosecutors became involved.
The setting also affected the charges. Perkins ultimately pleaded guilty not only to second-degree murder but also to using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on federal property.
The Department of Justice’s account describes Dunmire’s killing directly and without the more dramatic language used in some social-media posts.
What Perkins Did Afterward
After killing Dunmire, Perkins left the park and drove to Michigan.
There, she obtained a tattoo depicting a noose on her forearm.
She then returned to Virginia.
The tattoo became one of the most unusual and heavily publicized details of the case. On its own, a tattoo would not prove murder. In the context of her movements immediately after Dunmire’s death, however, prosecutors considered it part of the broader sequence of conduct.
Investigators also found evidence suggesting an attempt to make the death appear self-inflicted.
A deleted note recovered from Perkins’ cellphone resembled a suicide message purportedly written by Dunmire. Authorities said Perkins had created it around the time his body was found.
The discovery was significant because it suggested consciousness of guilt and a possible effort to misdirect the investigation.